


A master of his art

by mikhailosbitch



Series: Just survive [3]
Category: Shameless (US)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-13
Updated: 2017-04-13
Packaged: 2018-10-18 13:48:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10618188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikhailosbitch/pseuds/mikhailosbitch
Summary: My imagination of Mickey's relation to his dad when he was a teenager





	

**Author's Note:**

> All the parts of this series are pretty much written in one go because I only write them when they pop into my head so please let me know what you think about this story.
> 
> And sorry for the mistakes, English is not my first language.

Pang.

A crushing sound and throb in his cheek.

Warm blood running over his face, dripping down on the floor.

Another bash.

Terry continues smashing his face in and Mickey takes it.

Serves his purpose as his dad's living punching bag. One of them because to be fair his brothers, Mandy and mum have the same profession from time to time. But Mickey is Terry's favorite when it comes to beating the shit out of someone.

He hears another disgusting noise coming from his nose as Terry's fist and Mickey's face collide.

"Fucking little piece of shit!" Terry roars, wiping his hands that are covered in Mickey's blood on his pants before grabbing his throat and squeezing it until his son is wheezing and panting, desperately begging for air.

"You wanna breathe?"

Mickey nods.  
His eyes are big and so blue that Terry almost laughs because they look so much like the ones of that crack head that is his bitch of a wife.

"Then fucking earn it!" He snarls, his ironlike grip still around Mickey's neck.  
"You're a piss poor excuse of a boy so the least you can do is make yourself useful, you got that?!"  
Terry's face is about half an inch away from his and Mickey can feel spit hitting his skin and smell the alcohol reeking off his dad.

He nods.

"When your father asks you to do someting you do it. And you do it right!"

Mickey nods.

"So next time you collect you're back on fucking time!"

Mickey nods and finally, finally Terry loosens his grip, releases him and he leans against the wall, trying to steady himself without looking weak while catching his breath.

Terry looks at him with one last disapproving head shake that makes Mickey's chest clench and then he's out the door, the money Mickey brought gone with him.

 

When Mickey feels like he isn't gonna pass out the second he leaves the wall he slowly makes his way to the bathroom to examine the damage.

 

Cracks litter the mirror like a spider web but he can see what his dad's hands created during the last fifteen minutes.  
It's not the worst Mickey's had but it's still a piece of art, red and black and blue.

His left eye is swollen shut and there are several other bruises forming on his skin, varying in all kinds of dark blue.

There's other marks from beatings during the last few days that have started to fade so his face is a mix of blue and purple and black and yellow and the whole thing is garnished with bright and shiny red covering his cheeks, nose and mouth.

Mickey cocks his head to the side, ignoring the sting that runs through his brain, and stares at this guy in the mirror that happens to be him and that he hates so much that he wants to throw a punch at the glass so he doesn't have to look at this shame of a human being anymore.

But he keeps his hand down, his fingers are still sore from last week when Terry decided to step on them while he was kicking Mickey to pulp, and keeps studying his father's work.

He painted Mickey's face with his fists and he is a master at his art.

 

And then Mickey destroys the masterpiece because tears start running down his cheeks, sliding over Terry's efforts and washing away tiny bits of blood.  
The picture isn't damaged badly but Mickey takes the beauty away and Terry would hit him if he were here right now. Make his work perfect again.

But Terry isn't here so Mickey takes an old towel, ratty and covered in stains, wets it and starts cleaning his face.  
Wipes away tears and blood, leaving cuts and bruises.  
Where Terry didn't mark his possession Mickey's skin is almost white.

A weird contrast to all the colors on his face.

 

Terry comes home and snatches the beer from Mickey which he had grabbed out of the fridge for him and slumps down on the couch.

Mandy and mum are in the kitchen, preparing dinner while Jaime and Iggy are sitting at the table, cleaning a part of the Milkovich gun collection.  
Tony and Joey are running an errand down the block and Mickey joins his brothers at the table where he starts looking over the numbers of the family business. According to Terry robberies, drug runs and selling guns are a business.

Mickey's always had a thing for math and since his dad discovered that his youngest son is supposed to keep them afloat and run shit when Terry is in the can or not in the mood. It's Mickey's other profession apart from the punching bag service.

Terry's little army, that's what they are and Mickey is proud. Proud to be a part of that. And eager. Eager for his dad looking at him with pride.

Look at me. Look, I'm doing great. I do everything you want and I'm doing good.

Please dad, let me earn your love.

 

 

 

Mickey knows his mum and his siblings love him. He loves them too, of course he does but it's not like they show each other.  
Showing affection is weak. Terry taught them it's stupid and weak and faggy.

Terry taught his children a lot of things.

 

Never. Never snitch on your family. Loyalty is everything.

 

Don't trust anyone that isn't family. Never.

 

Family, and by family Terry means mainly himself, comes first. Always.

 

He doesn't only share his philosophies with them but also shows them how to be a little soldier of Terry Milkovich.

How to handle a gun.

What knife is best for stabbing someone.

The right moves with a baseball bat so your enemy stays on the floor.

 

Mickey knows it all.

Sucks up every little thing Terry says and does like a sponge.

 

And sometimes. Sometimes he gets a reward.

Like his dad giving him one of his cigarettes.

A hard slap on the shoulder that isn't supposed to hurt but encourage.

 

A few words of praise are the best. 

They give Mickey hope. 

 

Hope that somewhere deep inside of Terry he actually loves him.

 

 

Mandy takes a plate with food and puts in on the coffee table, getting a short grunt from Terry before she backs off into the kitchen.

Mickey knows they all hold their breath as Terry takes the first bite and they relax when he doesn't start complaining or shouting.

The food is decent and the house calm a little longer.

 

Three days later Mickey turns sixteen.

Iggy gives him five joints and Mandy got him a new pen and a notebook for school. Terry doesn't see any sense in wasting money on school supplies.  
Mickey knows how to run the money shit and for Terry that's enough.

The only reason he lets his children go to school at all is so neither police nor CPS show up one day.  
But he does have them skip as much as possible because a business doesn't run itself.

Mickey doesn't mind. It's not like he's anywhere near being a decent student anyway.  
Mickey's main activities in school are smoking weed behind the gym, terrorizing teachers and other kids and stealing someone's lunch when the hole in his stomach just gets too big.

 

In the afternoons or when he skips school Mickey helps his dad along with his brothers, steals from food stores so his mum can cook something or works on his own reputation by scaring people all over the neighborhood.

 

It's all part of being a member of the Milkovich family. They all pull their weight.

 

Terry needs his soldiers.

 

 

 

Terry is gone a couple days because he's on a drug run in the outskirts of Chicago with Tony and Jaime.

 

It's Mickey's best birthday present.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The newest bruises make it to yellow before Terry paints another picture on his skin.

**Author's Note:**

> I would love to get some feedback


End file.
